May 15, 2006 - One
Piece: Unlimited Adventure is based on the anime/manga
One Piece, the story of several bands of pirates searching
for the ultimate treasure. As far as we know, One
Piece: Unlimited Adventure will be a Wii exclusive,
since the gameplay is being completely centered on
the Wii-mote and the systems motion-sensing capabilities.

The
demo shown featured El Capitano Monkey D. Luffy exploring
an island, looking for - what else? - buried treasure
and pirate booty. Not that kind of pirate booty....
Once you come across the treasure chest which yields
a pick axe, Luffy can then dig in the ground for glowing
orb-things or smash rocks. Like your typical 3D action/platformer,
movement is handled with the analog stick on the nunchuck
while jumping is mapped to the Wii-mote. Using the
pickaxe comes courtesy of the Wii-mote motion-sensors
as you swing it up or down or side to side to smash
things onscreen.

The
game will feature many cool puzzles, the first of
which we discovered when we located the Orb of Time
which is used to speed time up (at a cost). We used
the Orb of Time to grow a tree several hundred years
into the future, which helped move a large boulder
blocking our path. The next area was much larger but
we weren't allowed to play any further as someone
else was rushed in ahead of us. We watched him play
the next area which involved catching butterflies
with a net (using the Wii-mote) and jumping onto red
mushrooms that allowed Luffy to jump higher into the
air. Next came a fishing demo using the Wii-mote,
much like we saw Link do in the Twilight Princess
demonstration.

The
look of the game captures the anime-stylings of the
series and the control, while in need of tweaks here
and there, is shaping up to be quite engaging and
entertaining. With its large areas completely geared
for exploration and action and the unique control
scheme, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure is one game
that is shaping up to live up to its title.